Digital resistance: the non-compromising attitude of

East European demo art

Jari JaantoVisa-Valtteri Pimiä

ALTERNATIVE PARTY

Alternative Party

Alternative Party

Alternative Party

Alternative Party

Alternative Party

Alternative Party

Alternative Party

Alternative Party• “Alternative Party is a festival of digital culture and a demoparty

which gathers together creative people of all kinds: visualists, musicians, designers, programmers, researchers, passionate enthusiasts and people like you and me.”

• “One aim of Alternative Party is to bring demos and digital culture to the masses and bring masses to demos and digital culture. We also like to see tolerance and equality - and we like to see forerunners and pioneers as part of the community today.”

DIGITAL CULTURE

ChangeChange

WORLD

AltParty importspeople into digital culture from the world.

AltParty exports change from digital culture to the world!

советских компьютерных систем

M-1

• электронно-вычислительная машина

• The first computer made in the Soviet Union

• Developed during 1950-1951• In operation from 1952• One of the first computers that

stored programs in memory• Memory: 512 of 25bit words

(24 bits for value, 1 bit for sign)• Speed: 20 instructions per second• Power consumption 8kW

Сетунь• The only Trinary computer

ever produced• Trits: -, 0, +• For scientific research• 50 produced during

1959-1965• Speed: 200kHz or 4500op/s• Second model: Сетунь-70

produced in 1970

Аргон-16• Used in: Союз, Прогресс, МИР, Салют• 1974-2010• Triple computer• Addition: 5 ms, multiplication: 45 ms• RAM: 3x 2KB, ROM: 3x 16KB• Data rate: up to 80,000 Kbps

Микро-80• Processor: K580IK80A or KR580VM80A (i8080 clone)• Memory: 64KB RAM, 2KB ROM• Keyboard: 61 keys• Output Device: Television with 64x32 textmode• External storage: cassette recorder (1500 bps)

• Schematics published in magazine “Радио” 1983• 200 parts, which were really hard to find• Parts sold in black market• Only couple actually made by hobbyists

Электроника БК• 1985• “Official” Home computer

in mass production• CPU: K1801VM1 (PDP-11 based)

- 3MHz (BK-0010), - 4.6MHz (BK-0011), - 4MHz (BK-0011M)

• Memory: 32KB• 512x256 1 color,

256x256 4 colors

Электроника БК

Электроника БК

Радио 86РК• 1986 from the magazine “Радио”• 29 components • CPU: K580IK80 or KR580VM80 (i8080 clone)• RAM: 16-32KB, ROM: 2 KB• Video: 64x25 textmode

• Lot’s of variants and pheripicals built.• Also an graphic adapter exists

Радио 86РК

УКНЦ• 1987 for educational purposes• CPU: 2 × KM1801VM2 @8Mhz

(PDP-11 based)• RAM: 192KB, ROM: 32KB• 640×288 8 colors

УКНЦ

Вектор-06Ц• 1987• KR580VM80A @3 MHz (i8080 clone)• RAM: 64KB• 256x256 / 16 colors

512x256 / 4 colors256x256 & 512x256 / 1 color

• 256 color palette• Sound: KR580VI53, Soviet clone

of Intel 8253 timer.

Вектор-06Ц

Вектор-06Ц

Клоны ZX Spectrum• Spectrum machines were bought from the west and contrabanded to east• By 1984 schematics were available but not the parts• First clone was built on 1985 • No such thing as “copyright” existed • New features and peripherals were made • Spectrum clones were the dominant platform of almost all east european

countries

• Still being produced in russia

Клоны ZX Spectrum

DDR: Robotron

Jugoslavia: Galaksija

Пентагон• Most widespread spectrum clone

• CPU: КР1858ВМ1/3, Т34ВМ1, Z80A, B, H @ 3.5 MHz• Memory: 48KB – 1MB

• Пентагон-48K (1989) – Without Beta 128 Disk Interface • Пентагон-128K (1991) - Without AY-3-8910• Пентагон-128K 2+ (1991) - With AY-3-8910 at obscure speed of 3.5 MHz• Пентагон-128K 3 + (1993)• Pentagon-1024SL v1.x (2005)• Pentagon-1024SL v2.x (2006) - 7Mhz• Pentagon ver.2.666 (2009) - an experimental model with a Z80-compatible

core T80 (at a frequency of 28 MHz)

Пентагон

Demoscene• First demos in Poland & Czechoslovakia • People did not know anything about the western world’s demoscene and

did their own hacks• Spectrum clones as the main platform • Amiga demos were spread by VHS tapes • First Russian demoparty in 1995 with 200 participants

Demoshow

• A selection of Spectrum demos for Pentagon compatible computers

• COME TO SEE THEM LIVE @ ALTERNATIVE PARTY 2011: 21.-23.10. @ CABLE FACTORY HELSINKI

Links• http://www.altparty.org/pubwiki/Soviet_tech_links• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Soviet_computer_systems• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elektronika_BK• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_(computer)• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UKNC• ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector-06C• http://15kop.ru/ - museum of Soviet coin-op arcade games (both digital and

analog)• http://www.computer-museum.ru/index.php - also includes information on

space and military computers• http://www.taswegian.com/MOSCOW/soviet.html - museum of Soviet

calculators• http://www.mustekala.info/node/921 - brief history of Russian speccy

demoscene by elfh/inward

Thanks!

Jari Jaantohttp://jaan.to/

Visa-Valtteri Pimiähttp://www.low.fi/~visy

www.altparty.orgGreetings to viznut^PwP & Britelite^DKD